What Causes Vertical Or Horizontal Lines When Printing? – Troubleshooting Guide

When you use a printer, the printouts you get should be in excellent condition. However, there’s always a chance of quality issues affecting your documents. For instance, some printouts have vertical or horizontal lines that ruin the document.

When your printout has vertical or horizontal lines, start by checking the original image or document on your printer. Ensure the original file is not corrupted and the print quality settings are set correctly. Vertical or horizontal streaks can also be caused by low ink levels, dirty printheads, and poorly distributed toner in a cartridge.

This guide will walk you through each possible reason your printout has vertical or horizontal lines. You’ll also discover how to fix the problem and resume high-quality printing.

Vertical and horizontal streaks in your printed documents can be pretty frustrating. Still, there’s no need for alarm as the likely causes are straightforward.

Here are the reasons you find vertical and horizontal lines when printing and how you can resolve them:

Read: Why Does My Printer Say No Paper When There Is Paper? – Troubleshooting Guide

Image Or Document Problems

What it is: Your printer’s purpose is to replicate every detail you see on your computer screen to the best of its abilities. That includes words, images, patterns and anything else in your document.

So, whenever your printer experiences some kind of drop-in printing quality, the first thing you should troubleshoot is the original image or document you’re trying to print.

There are plenty of settings that you can adjust to that will either improve or reduce the quality of your printer’s output.

Why it happens: When you discover vertical or horizontal lines on your printed document, you should first focus your attention on your computer. Then, check that the document or image you’re trying to print is free from those lines or other streaks that would appear in the printout.

Besides that, other quality-related issues could originate from the computer file. For example, an image stretched too much on your computer will create defects like vertical or horizontal lines.

Besides that, setting your printer resolution too low can also cause defects in the print output, like the vertical or horizontal streaks you see on the paper.

How to fix it: Fixing this problem will require you to check the original document or image you’re trying to print and the printer settings on your computer.

Firstly, check that there are no streaks in the original document or image. Then, ensure that any images are at the correct size and not excessively stretched.

Finally, check your printer settings to ensure the resolution is not too low. The resolution should be set to a moderate or higher option instead.

Read: Why Brother Printer Keeps Dropping Off The Wifi Network? – Troubleshooting Guide

Low Ink Levels

What it is: Your printer’s ink or toner is the most crucial consumable needed for the device to function correctly. Printer ink is typically separated according to color.

So, black and white printers will only have one or more black ink cartridges. Meanwhile, color printers will have an additional tricolor cartridge with cyan, magenta, and yellow ink.

As you continue printing documents, the ink levels will gradually drop. When a cartridge is empty, you must replace it with a new one.

Why it happens: Printing streaks, vertical or horizontal, can also occur when your printer’s ink reaches low levels. When that happens, the cartridges fail to distribute the ink evenly, causing the appearance of unwanted lines throughout the printout.

How to fix it: The solution to this problem is pretty straightforward: you’ll have to replace the almost-empty ink cartridge with a new, full one.

A new ink cartridge will have enough ink to deposit evenly onto the paper as it should, preventing any appearance of vertical or horizontal streaks.

Read: How To Fix Printer That Is Making Noises? – Troubleshooting Guide

Dirty Printhead

What it is: The printhead is a component that houses ink cartridges securely. It also moves your cartridges from side to side so they can release ink onto the paper sheet that passes underneath.

The ink from the cartridges will have to pass through the printhead onto the paper below.

Why it happens: As mentioned earlier, printer ink flows through the printhead to the paper underneath. Unfortunately, that can cause the printhead to become dirty after extended use.

That’s especially true if you haven’t used the printer for a while. Any leftover ink on the printhead will dry and harden slightly when left unused.

As a result, the dirty printhead affects how ink travels from the cartridge to the paper underneath. The end result will be lines that run vertically or even horizontally, depending on how dirty the printhead is.

How to fix it: You can solve this problem by cleaning the printhead. That will begin with you removing the printhead. Then, briefly soak the dirty part in a mixture of 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol. The mixture will clean dried ink and anything else dirtying the printhead.

Lastly, rest the printhead on a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture before reinstalling it in your printer.

When you use a printer, the printouts you get should be in excellent condition. However, there’s always a chance of quality issues affecting your documents. For instance, some printouts have vertical or horizontal lines that ruin the document.

When your printout has vertical or horizontal lines, start by checking the original image or document on your printer. Ensure the original file is not corrupted and the print quality settings are set correctly. Vertical or horizontal streaks can also be caused by low ink levels, dirty printheads, and poorly distributed toner in a cartridge.

This guide will walk you through each possible reason your printout has vertical or horizontal lines. You’ll also discover how to fix the problem and resume high-quality printing.

Vertical and horizontal streaks in your printed documents can be pretty frustrating. Still, there’s no need for alarm as the likely causes are straightforward.

Here are the reasons you find vertical and horizontal lines when printing and how you can resolve them:

Read: Why Does My Printer Say No Paper When There Is Paper? – Troubleshooting Guide

Image Or Document Problems

What it is: Your printer’s purpose is to replicate every detail you see on your computer screen to the best of its abilities. That includes words, images, patterns and anything else in your document.

So, whenever your printer experiences some kind of drop-in printing quality, the first thing you should troubleshoot is the original image or document you’re trying to print.

There are plenty of settings that you can adjust to that will either improve or reduce the quality of your printer’s output.

Why it happens: When you discover vertical or horizontal lines on your printed document, you should first focus your attention on your computer. Then, check that the document or image you’re trying to print is free from those lines or other streaks that would appear in the printout.

Besides that, other quality-related issues could originate from the computer file. For example, an image stretched too much on your computer will create defects like vertical or horizontal lines.

Besides that, setting your printer resolution too low can also cause defects in the print output, like the vertical or horizontal streaks you see on the paper.

How to fix it: Fixing this problem will require you to check the original document or image you’re trying to print and the printer settings on your computer.

Firstly, check that there are no streaks in the original document or image. Then, ensure that any images are at the correct size and not excessively stretched.

Finally, check your printer settings to ensure the resolution is not too low. The resolution should be set to a moderate or higher option instead.

Read: Why Brother Printer Keeps Dropping Off The Wifi Network? – Troubleshooting Guide

Low Ink Levels

What it is: Your printer’s ink or toner is the most crucial consumable needed for the device to function correctly. Printer ink is typically separated according to color.

So, black and white printers will only have one or more black ink cartridges. Meanwhile, color printers will have an additional tricolor cartridge with cyan, magenta, and yellow ink.

As you continue printing documents, the ink levels will gradually drop. When a cartridge is empty, you must replace it with a new one.

Why it happens: Printing streaks, vertical or horizontal, can also occur when your printer’s ink reaches low levels. When that happens, the cartridges fail to distribute the ink evenly, causing the appearance of unwanted lines throughout the printout.

How to fix it: The solution to this problem is pretty straightforward: you’ll have to replace the almost-empty ink cartridge with a new, full one.

A new ink cartridge will have enough ink to deposit evenly onto the paper as it should, preventing any appearance of vertical or horizontal streaks.

Read: How To Fix Printer That Is Making Noises? – Troubleshooting Guide

Dirty Printhead

What it is: The printhead is a component that houses ink cartridges securely. It also moves your cartridges from side to side so they can release ink onto the paper sheet that passes underneath.

The ink from the cartridges will have to pass through the printhead onto the paper below.

Why it happens: As mentioned earlier, printer ink flows through the printhead to the paper underneath. Unfortunately, that can cause the printhead to become dirty after extended use.

That’s especially true if you haven’t used the printer for a while. Any leftover ink on the printhead will dry and harden slightly when left unused.

As a result, the dirty printhead affects how ink travels from the cartridge to the paper underneath. The end result will be lines that run vertically or even horizontally, depending on how dirty the printhead is.

How to fix it: You can solve this problem by cleaning the printhead. That will begin with you removing the printhead. Then, briefly soak the dirty part in a mixture of 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol. The mixture will clean dried ink and anything else dirtying the printhead.

Lastly, rest the printhead on a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture before reinstalling it in your printer.